Twins Reared Apart Flashcards, test questions and answers
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What is Twins Reared Apart?
Twins reared apart are two twins who were separated at birth and raised in different environments. This phenomenon has been of particular interest to researchers for many years, as it provides an opportunity to gain insights into how much of personality, intelligence, and other traits are determined by nature versus nurture.The most famous study of twins reared apart was conducted by Thomas Bouchard in the 1970s and 1980s. He tracked down more than 100 pairs of twins who had been separated shortly after birth and placed with adoptive families. By studying these pairs, he found several remarkable similarities between them despite their different upbringings. These included similar patterns of behavior, humor styles, interests, hobbies, religious beliefs, career choices, IQ scores and even speech patterns.This suggests that there is a strong genetic component to a person’s personality traits and abilities. It also indicates that environmental influences can be powerful but not necessarily determinative: some aspects of one’s identity may be predetermined at birth while others may be shaped by life experiences after separation from the twin sibling. The research into twins reared apart has serious implications for social policies such as adoption laws which can have profound effects on human development over the long-term; this research should be taken into account when designing such policies in order to maximize positive outcomes for children who are adopted or otherwise separated from their biological families at an early age.